Future Initiatives To Promote and Grow Tourism – In Conversation with Mr Mohd Hafiz Hashim, Director – Tourism Malaysia Mumbai
It has been over a month since the lockdown in India. With everything closed and the public not going out of their homes. A lot of Industry have seen and have got affected by this pandemic. One of that industry is the Travel & Tourism Industry.
Travel & Tourism Industry has seen a great amount of growth in the Tourism Sector. From the last 5 years, where people have been getting out of their home, travelling the whole world. This looks like a dream.
With over thousands of jobs hanging at the edge now, every country is facing this loss in the Tourism sector. From India to almost every country that has been growing with since the last couple of years. Having seeing big growth in the footfall of people coming from around the globe to see our beautiful place.
One of that country is Malaysia and today we have Mr Mohd Hafiz Hashim who is Director – Tourism Malaysia Mumbai, interviewing with us on the ‘Future Initiatives to Promote and Grow Tourism‘.
‘Future Initiatives to Promote and Grow Tourism‘
Q1. What is your advice about safety and health measures of all tourists travelling to your country?
Ans.1. Malaysia is the best place to bring people together. As per the Government’s directives, we are following all safety instructions to give the best experience to all our tourists. It is advisable for all tourists to take note of the safety and health guidelines before they commence their travel. These guidelines will be available to a tourist when they apply for a visa.
Q.2. What are the necessary steps/ actions taken by the tourism board post-COVID-19?
Ans.2. As per the Government directive, we have asked all our service providers to follow proper sanitization procedures. Immediate medical attention will be available at all tourist destinations. Special attention will be given to affected tourists to ensure no disruption of any MICE & Leisure program. We will ensure strict adherence to all safety and health measures as directed by the Malaysian Government.
Q.3. What actions are been taken to ensure that the tourism board is ready to get leisure & business travellers back after COVID-19 pandemic is over?
Ans.3. Tourism Malaysia’s immediate action plan post-COVID-19 will be:
· Media FAM
· Travel Agent FAM
· Product Briefing Seminars in Tier II cities
· Joint Promotion campaigns
To boost MICE & Leisure in Malaysia, we will be working closely with Corporates & Travel Agents on various incentives programmes. We will be also working on a few promotional activities with airlines and other product partners too.
Q.4. What are the lucrative offers that the tourism board plans to offer to the travel and hospitality industry post-COVID-19?
Ans.4. Currently, we are waiting for the Covid-19 situation containment measures to be eased. The tourism board will take some time to decide on the offers.
Q.5. Impact of COVID-19 on particular tourism board travel and tourism revenue in 2019 and forecast for 2020?
Ans.5. Currently, it is a wait and watches situation for all Tourism Boards due to the COVID-19 situation. We are estimating a loss of around 28%-30% this fiscal year. In 2019, total tourist receipts from India was around RM 3,619 million. For the year 2020, we had a target for 1 million Indian visiting Malaysia, which now seems a little difficult to achieve.
Q.6. What precautions do you advise to the travellers after coronavirus pandemic is over?
Ans.6. As mentioned earlier, Malaysia is a safe country to travel in. Many solo travellers and bag packers enjoy their self made itineraries when they travel to Malaysia. We advise them to take care of their personal belongings and travel documents. They should strictly adhere to the safety and health guidelines which will be issued by the government. Self sanitization is of prime importance. Use of face masks and sanitizers are always recommended.
Q.7. What are the future plans to organise road shows/ exhibition to tap the outbound and inbound market?
Ans.7. Tourism Malaysia will be going ahead with few joint promotional activities with travel trade partners and airlines to roadshows and exhibitions across the country.
Q.8. What are the key points to be highlighted by the tourism board in regard to advertisement in print, electronic and social media?
Ans.8. We will decide on this aspect post Covid-19 situation.
Q.9. How do you see the footfall of international travellers post COVID-19?
Ans.9. Malaysia being a safe country, we expect high turnout of Indians tourists this year. Travel may start by the 3rdquarter of 2020 and gradually increase in the 4thquarter.
Q.10. What were 2019 tourist arrivals and what you are excepting in 2020-21?
Ans.10. In 2019, 7.3+ lakhs Indians travelled to Malaysia. We had benchmarked around 1 million by the end of 2020-21. Looking at the Covid19 situation, we may revise our estimates.
Q.11. What are the future attractions for the visitor’s in Fair n festival organised by the tourism board?
Ans.11. Tourism Malaysia will be offering various attractive incentives on different products and destinations during Travel Fair & Festivals. We will announce the same in the coming months.
We hope this session by Mr Mohd Hafiz Hashim has helped you the readers, in any way possible. We would like to thank our 10K plus subscribers and active readers for sending in questions. If you have not subscribed yet do so to keep it in touch with upcoming content.
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